Eisenhower Park Readies for T20 World Cup Triumph

The first modular stadium in international cricket, Eisenhower Park in New York, is prepared for the T20 World Cup. The fastest man in the world and World Cup ambassador, Usain Bolt, officially opened the 34,000-seat arena on Wednesday. The site is located approximately 25 miles east of New York City.

In the days preceding the World Cup, which starts on June 1 and is being held in the USA and the West Indies, the ICC will hold test matches at the new location. Of the 16 matches in the USA, eight will take place in New York, with four each in Dallas and Texas. On June 3, South Africa and Sri Lanka will play their first game at Eisenhower Park in Nassau County.

India versus Bangladesh will play a warm-up match on June 1 at Eisenhower Park. India will play three matches in New York during the main tournament, with the match versus Pakistan on June 9 being the main event.

One of the biggest projects the ICC has ever worked on, Eisenhower Park required the construction of a new stadium in five months on what was essentially undeveloped park space in January. Preparing drop-in pitches in Florida and shipping them by land to New York, where they were installed in the practice areas and main square, was a major portion of the project.

Along with six additional pitches for training at a shorter distance from the ground, ten drop-in pitches were installed in the main square. Adelaide Oval Turf Solutions, led by Adelaide Oval’s head curator Damian Hough, has prepared the pitches. Conversely, the outfield was constructed by the United States-based grass manufacturer LandTek Group, which has also provided playing fields for the soccer team Inter Miami and the baseball teams New York Yankees and New York Mets.

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Chris Tetley, the head of events at the ICC, told the media on Tuesday, “We’ve turned what was park land and an informal cricket ground into what you’ll agree looks like a world-class cricket stadium that you might find anywhere.”

Although the warm-up match between Bangladesh and India will be the first between two international teams at Eisenhower Park, Tetley announced that “community cricket events” will be held in the final two weeks of May to better understand operational demands and resource management, which will include infrastructure testing. “There will be proper cricket played there before the first match of the event,” he stated.